A Beautiful Beginning
by Kristen3
Summary: When Daphne suddenly has a bruise on her cheek, Niles assumes the worst. But when he learns the truth, it leads to a wonderful surprise. One-shot.


Daphne awoke, and the first thing she did was touch her cheek. Of course it still hurt. Yesterday, while trying to clean some of Dr. Crane's bloody knickknacks, she'd fallen, and somehow managed to get a black eye in the process. As she got up and made her way to the bathroom, she saw that pain wasn't the only thing that lingered. The bruise was also quite visible in the mirror. She mad a mental note to call Roz later on and see if there wasn't some way to hide this with makeup. If not, there was no way she'd leave the house looking like this.

But, with a sigh, Daphne realized that she couldn't think about that now. Black eye or not, she had responsibilities. She knew Dr. Crane wouldn't see a small bruise (especially a self-inflicted one) as a reason to take the day off. She tried to put the whole incident out of her mind as she reluctantly walked out to the living room. Maybe the routine of her days spent at the Cranes' would make her feel better.

As she entered the living room, she was grateful to find it empty for once. Of course, Dr. Crane was sleeping in, which meant he wasn't to be disturbed. But sometimes Mr. Crane was awake even before her. He said that his years of rising early when he was a cop were something he just couldn't let go of. But, thankfully, he'd gone out with some of his friends last night, and his old habits weren't on his mind right now.

Daphne was just about to make herself some breakfast and enjoy the rare quiet when a knock at the door interrupted her. Feeling a bit annoyed at this unexpected guest, Daphne went to answer it. "Hello, Dr. Crane," she said. He was always so kind to her, but right now, she wasn't in the mood, and she knew it showed in her voice.

"Daphne! What on earth's happened to you?"

"What do you mean? You've seen me in me bathrobe before!"

"Well, yes, but your eye! Who did this to you?"

"Oh, that. No one-" Before she could explain further, Daphne found herself being hugged.

"I hope you told Dad about this!" Niles held her close. "Whoever did this must be punished!"

"Well, I'm afraid that's impossible," Daphne replied with a laugh.

"Now, Daphne, if this is a man that you went out with, he can't get away with this! I don't care what his excuse was!"

Pulling out of the embrace, Daphne squeezed his hand. "Dr. Crane, please calm down and listen! No one hurt me. I'm afraid I've done this to meself."

Niles looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"I was trying to clean one of your brother's antiques, and I lost me balance. This black eye is the result of the fall I took. I guess I wasn't paying attention as usual, and this is what I get for being so daft."

Niles hugged her at once. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Accidents happen."

To her own surprise, Daphne found she liked the way it felt as he held her. Even if all of this was wrong, she felt safe here. "Thank you," Daphne said, once again ending the embrace. She could've stayed there all day, but of course that was ridiculous.

"I'm sorry I got so angry earlier. It's just that the thought of someone hurting you upsets me."

"Oh, well, it's nice to know someone cares about me." Daphne hugged him once again. "But I'm afraid there isn't much chance of a man hurting me. I can't even get one to ask me out lately!"

Niles' heart broke at her words. He knew all about feeling lonely. "Oh, Daphne. We must be in the same boat, then. Women aren't exactly flocking to me, either." He sighed. "I don't know what's going to happen in my future, but I can't imagine you being alone forever." As he spoke the words, Niles couldn't help wishing _he_ could be the answer to Daphne's loneliness.

"Oh, Dr. Crane, you're such a good friend." She kissed his cheek. "Why can't there be more men like you?"

Something about the way she asked that simple question made Niles' heart race. Maybe it was a sign. He looked into Daphne's eyes, never even glancing at the bruise. "I suppose I should explain to you why I reacted so strongly when I thought someone had hurt you."

Daphne looked at him in confusion. Hadn't he already apologized for that?

"Well, you see, I think you're much too special for any man to ever mistreat you. You should be with a man who cares about you and loves you." He paused, knowing he had no choice but to tell her everything that was in his heart. "Someone like me."

"Like you?" Daphne asked. Suddenly, she was in shock.

Niles panicked at her reaction. Was she saying that she could never love a man like him? "Well, um, yes," he stammered. "I...sort of...love you."

Daphne saw the nervousness in his expression. It was clear to her then that he was serious. It didn't make any sense. She wasn't worthy of his affections. But, the more she thought about it, wasn't that what love was supposed to do? See the best in a person? "I'm rather surprised," Daphne finally said. "I never expected to have a man tell me he loves me while I stand here in me bathrobe!" She laughed.

"Oh," Niles said. Until this moment, he'd never given any thought to the awkwardness of the situation. "Daphne, your beauty has nothing to do with what you're wearing. It doesn't even have to do with what you look like. It's your heart. Nothing in the world could ever change that."

All of her life, Daphne had been doing her best to make herself look good for others. It was what she'd been taught. But now, she began to feel beautiful just as she was. Her newfound confidence allowed her to lean forward and kiss him. For once, she gave no thought to the differences between their classes or all of the other reasons this was crazy. Her heart told her then that this was the beginning of something amazing. Just before she gave into her desire for a second kiss, she managed to whisper, "I sort of love you, too." Being in love with the younger Dr. Crane certainly came as a surprise, but Daphne knew all too well that sometimes surprises turn out to be things one could never imagine.

**The End**


End file.
